Narrowband UVB Phototherapy for Clinically Isolated Syndrome: A Trial to Deliver the Benefits of Vitamin D and Other UVB-Induced Molecules.

ABSTRACT: Low vitamin D and insufficient sun exposure are additive independent risk factors for the development of multiple sclerosis (MS). The usual measure of vitamin D status, serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D], is also a marker of recent exposure to the UVB rays of sunshine. The main evidence for a protective effect for MS development of higher 25(OH)D comes from observational studies, but this study design cannot separate out whether 25(OH)D is acting as a marker of vitamin D status, sun exposure, or both. In light of a lack of definitive outcomes in MS patients after trials of vitamin D supplementation and the ability of narrowband UVB to induce vitamin D, as well as other immune-regulatory molecules in skin, the Phototherapy for Clinically Isolated Syndrome (PhoCIS) trial was established to

SUBMITTER: Hart PH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5256075 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature